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FranTheBlade

FranTheBlade

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Just watched Carrick’s invincibles. Looked tired, under pressure and should have lost. Let’s see how they cope with the pressure of expectation their form has created.

We are at our best when people write us off.

Enjoy the run in. UTB!
 



I thought that Middleborough performance would have won a lot of matches, but Stoke were very good.

I like your sentiment, also agree they could crumble under pressure... But not necessarily on that evidence.
 
My combined best 11 of Blades and Boro. Sums it up for me.

Wes

Anel Egan Lenihan

Baldock Norwood Barlaser RND

Ndiaye Archer

Akpom
 
Also considering the run Boro are on I thought the attendance was poor and the atmosphere very negative ! Hopefully the home crowd keep getting on their backs . Be it’s not just us !
As ever UTB
 
Ndiayewillalwaysloveyou said:
My combined best 11 of Blades and Boro. Sums it up for me.

Wes

Anel Egan Lenihan

Baldock Norwood Barlaser RND

Ndiaye Archer

Akpom
Click to expand...
What’s this love in with RND he improved as the season went on and getting injured at Coventry was a bummer for him
But his crossing was no better or worse than baldocks and his ability to slow the game down in overloads and pass backwards was so frustrating
Good old fashioned full.back though
 
ATL Recs said:
What’s this love in with RND he improved as the season went on and getting injured at Coventry was a bummer for him
But his crossing was no better or worse than baldocks and his ability to slow the game down in overloads and pass backwards was so frustrating
Good old fashioned full.back though
Click to expand...
He was arguably our best player up to his injury and added some.much needed aggression
 
ATL Recs said:
What’s this love in with RND he improved as the season went on and getting injured at Coventry was a bummer for him
But his crossing was no better or worse than baldocks and his ability to slow the game down in overloads and pass backwards was so frustrating
Good old fashioned full.back though
Click to expand...
You know that all Blades players become world beaters when they’re either injured, out of the team because of form, loaned out/ sold for less than they’re worth.

Heaven forbid a player scores for another club when they’re rumoured to have been on our radar or had a failed loan spell with us… they become the new Messi

I’m the best player that Warnock never signed

To be fair to RND though he’d looked much better this season before his injury
 
BrayfordsBushyBeard said:
Also considering the run Boro are on I thought the attendance was poor and the atmosphere very negative ! Hopefully the home crowd keep getting on their backs . Be it’s not just us !
As ever UTB
Click to expand...
Yeah, that was a bit surprising tbh. Every stray pass from Boro (and there were quite a few!) was greeted with loud groans. Ridiculous when you look at it in the context of the season.
 



CaptainMorgans said:
Historically, maybe.
A lot of these lot haven't convinced us yet of their battling credentials: Bogle, Lowe, Anel, Berge, Doyle, McAtee...
Need some leaders to emerge from somewhere now.
Click to expand...
There are plenty of leaders in the squad. Sharp, Egan, Basham & Norwood for starters, and the likes of McB & JLT will always play with heart & spirit.
 
Ndiayewillalwaysloveyou said:
My combined best 11 of Blades and Boro. Sums it up for me.

Wes

Anel Egan Lenihan

Baldock Norwood Barlaser RND

Ndiaye Archer

Akpom
Click to expand...
We've got a damn good bunch of RWBs between us, that's for sure. Probably 3 of the top 5 in the league. No idea what's going on with Jones, just appears to have been dropped with them preferring Smith as RB in the 4

The combined 11 is a good debate with this one actually. It'd almost certainly be 6 from one and 5 from the other

Steffen/Wes
Baldock Anel Lenihan Giles
Norwood Hackney?
Archer Akpom Ndiaye
McBurnie

Very irritating to think we could have had Archer with Ndiaye - would've helped him massively
 
brownblade said:
I thought that Middleborough performance would have won a lot of matches, but Stoke were very good.

I like your sentiment, also agree they could crumble under pressure... But not necessarily on that evidence.
Click to expand...

Agree...don't think Boro were exactly poor. Think they were average.

The factor last night was just how good Stoke played as an away team.
Pressed brilliantly, giving Boro no time to settle, then Stoke used the ball well and kept decent possession.
Boro just couldn't get into the game, their best hope was break away attacks when Stoke were having good spells with plenty of men up field.
 
ATL Recs said:
What’s this love in with RND he improved as the season went on and getting injured at Coventry was a bummer for him
But his crossing was no better or worse than baldocks and his ability to slow the game down in overloads and pass backwards was so frustrating
Good old fashioned full.back though
Click to expand...

SwissBlade said:
You know that all Blades players become world beaters when they’re either injured, out of the team because of form, loaned out/ sold for less than they’re worth.

Heaven forbid a player scores for another club when they’re rumoured to have been on our radar or had a failed loan spell with us… they become the new Messi

I’m the best player that Warnock never signed

To be fair to RND though he’d looked much better this season before his injury
Click to expand...
I get your points but before his injury people were talking for RND as player of the season. I'd definitely want him in the trenches with me.
 
ATL Recs said:
What’s this love in with RND he improved as the season went on and getting injured at Coventry was a bummer for him
But his crossing was no better or worse than baldocks and his ability to slow the game down in overloads and pass backwards was so frustrating
Good old fashioned full.back though
Click to expand...
Watching Stevens and Lowe. RND wad a solid 7 every week.
 
A lot of pressure on Boro now as well as chasing us they have to look over their shoulder at who are chasing them, lose their next game and there could be four teams with a similar number of points. A win for us tonight would be huge.
 
Hamandcheese said:
We've got a damn good bunch of RWBs between us, that's for sure. Probably 3 of the top 5 in the league. No idea what's going on with Jones, just appears to have been dropped with them preferring Smith as RB in the 4

The combined 11 is a good debate with this one actually. It'd almost certainly be 6 from one and 5 from the other

Steffen/Wes
Click to expand...
From what I saw of him last night, i'd have the Stoke keeper every day of the week though!
 
Hamandcheese said:
If RND was fit all season we'd easily be 3 or 4 pts better off

It would have been him and Robinson constantly and that's a very tough left side
Click to expand...

Definitely.

The left side - specifically the acres of space in front of the left side of our defence when we lose the ball - has been a huge factor in the run of poor results.

Norwich were the first to expose the weakness in the very first game after RND’s injury, when due to other injuries we were left fielding a left side of Osborn and Basham. Both Norwich goals came down that side.

Burnley were the next to exploit the weakness, with both goals coming down that flank - Robinson and Stevens played that day.

In the recent slip-ups, Middlesbrough’s first came from the same problem of there being a huge void in front of our left side defence, as did the first and third goals at Millwall.

Its the reason why Heckingbottom put Fleck back in - when by Fleck’s own admission he isn’t yet 100% - against Watford. It seems that we can’t trust any of our other midfielders to protect our slow (Robbo) and positionally weak (Lowe) left side.

Coulibaly did well to provide cover in that area against Spurs - albeit we weren’t quite as vulnerable in that match because Osborn played out of his skin at left-back. Coulibaly is plainly more athletic than Fleck who is struggling to get around the park, but Hecky clearly isn’t ready to trust him in crunch league games yet.

RND is arguably our best athlete - I know he doesn’t have much competition in that respect - and his continued absence from the left-side is really starting to hurt us.
 



Thought they looked very good in that first half up to just before Stoke equalised. I actually said in our GC that it wouldn't surprise me if they went the rest of the season unbeaten, but they looked a bit tired and ponderous in the second and Stoke gave a good account of themselves.
 
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